Fabric feeding system



Aug. 9, 1966 F. CATALLO 3,265,270

FABRIC FEEDING SYSTEM Filed March 4, i964 INVENTOR. FRANK CATALLO BY WM"1%???3 United States Patent 3,265,270 FABRIC'FIIEDIIIG SYSTEM FrankCatallo, Elmont, N.Y., assignor to Saineoe Holding Corporation,Woodside, N.Y., a corportion of New York Filed Mar. 4, 1964, Ser. No.349,305) 7 Claims. (Cl. 226-175) The present invention relates to thehandling of fabrics, and is directed more specifically to the provisionof a novel and improved method and means for feeding fabrics by means ofa controllably effective, non-positive feeding surface.

In a typical system for feeding fabrics a feeding surface (typically aroller surface) is arranged to have effectively positive feeding contactwith the fabric, and control over the feeding of the fabric ismaintained by regulation of the speed of the feeding surface. The systemof the present invention, while accommodating regulation of the fabricspeed through control of feeding surface speed, provides an additional,independent means of regulating fabric feeding speed by providing acontrolled slip feeding relationship between the fabric and the feedingsurface, and accurately regulating the extent of the slippage bycontrolled variation of the temperature of the feeding surface.

The system of the invention is based upon the phenomenon that thefrictional characteristics-between a fabric and a feeding surface varywith temperature. Accordingly, after initially establishing apredetermined slippage between a fabric and its feeding surface itbecomes possible to regulate the extent of the slippage above and belowthe predetermined norm by regulation of the temperature of the feedingsurface. Increasing the surface temperature reduces friction andtherefore increases slippage. While the theoretical basis for thisbehavior has not been adequately confirmed, it is possible that thevariation of friction characteristics is a function of moisture presentat the feeding surface. Thus, with increasing operating temperatures,increasing slippage is observed, and this may result from the drivingoff or activating of increasing amounts of the residual moisture of thefabric.

In accordance with the invention, fabric is directed over a feedingsurface, typically a roller, and is confined against the feeding surfaceby a second surface, referred to herein as a confining surface, whichmay be in the form of a roller or other moving surface or may simply bea stationary surface so arranged with the feeding surface as to define apredetermined guide passage for the fabric. The surface characteristicsof the feeding surface are such, in relation to the fabrics to beaccommodated, the nature of the guiding passage for the fabric, theresistance against which the fabric must be advanced, and otherapplicable conditions, that the feeding surface and the fabric are innon-positive driving relationship. In other words, under normaloperating conditions, there will be at least some slippage between thefeeding surface and the fabric.

The effective temperature of the feeding surface is controlled bysensing the surface temperature in an area contacted by the fabric andsupplying heating or cooling medium to the feeding surface to maintainit at a predetermined temperature, set by an appropriate regulator. Whenhandling dry fabric at room temperature the feeding surface will besupplied with heating medium. In many operations, however, the fabricwill be acted upon in advance of the feeding station by steam, so thatit is both hot and moist when it reaches the feeding surface, and insuch cases it may be necessary to supply cooling medium to the feedingsurface in order to maintain it at the desired predeterminedtemperature.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference lifibiz'iilPatented August 9, lgfifi should be made to the following detaileddescription and to the accompanying drawing, the sole figure of which isa simplified, schematic representation of a controlled slip fabricfeeding system according to the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference numeral ltl designates ahollow feeding roller, which is supported for rotation and driven bysuitable means, not specifically shown. In this respect, although theinvention is directed to the speed regulation of fabric feeding throughcontrolled slippage, it is also contemplated that the feeding roller 10be driven at variable speeds to establish a nominal speed level fromwhich the fabric speed may be varied upward or downward by temperatureregulation.

In the illustrated system, a guiding shoe I1 is mounted opposite thefeeding roller 10 and has a confining surface arranged to form apredetermined passage 12 for a fabric web 13. The surface of the feedingroller may be mildly etched or otherwise conditioned to be able to havelimited frictional gripping with the fabric, which may be a cotton knitfor example. However, the surface of the roller iii and the thickness ofthe passage 12 are such, in relation to the nature and thickness of thefabric 13, that the feeding roller will have non-positive or slippingengagement with the fabric when the fabric is restrained by apredetermined resistance. In the illustrated system, the fabric isrestrained by a series of tension bars 14, which are located on theincoming or entry side of the feeding roller It). However, the feedingsystem may instead include an exit-side resistance against which thefeeding roller will advance the fabric in non'positive relation.

In accordance with a significant aspect of the invention, the feedingroller It) is controllably supplied with heating and cooling media, formaintaining the feeding surface at a desired, predetermined temperature.Typically, the roller it) is of hollow construction, and the heating andcooling media are steam and water, respectively, arranged to beintroduced through a supply pipe 1.5, under the control of separatesteam and water valves lid, 17.

For sensing the temperature of the feeding roller, it is advantageous tomount a suitable thermocouple element 18 in contact with the rollersurface, in an area to be contacted by the fabric and relatively closeto the line of tangency between the fabric and feeding roller. Thearrangement is such that the condition sensed by the thermocouple isaccurately reflective of the feeding surface conditions to which theincoming fabric will be exposed.

In conjunction with the thermocouple element 18 there is provided anadjustable electrical regulator system 19, whose details are notpertinent to the invention but which may be of conventional design usingcommercially available components. Essentially, the adjustable regulator19 may be set to correspond to a predetermined temperature level and toprovide an output signal according to the relationship between theadjusted setting of the regulator and the electrical signal fed into theregulator by the thermocouple it Thus, in the highly simplified systemillustrated, either heating or cooling medium may be admitted to thefeeding roller It by utilizing the regulator output signal to operatethe valves 16, I7, which may be solenoid actuated.

Typically, one or the other of the steam or water media will be admittedto the roller 10, but appropriate proportioning and mixing of the media,in order to maintain a steady state of temperature balance, is withinthe purview of the invention. In a typical installation of an apparatusin accordance with the invention, accommodation may be made for feedingroller surface temperatures ranging from about 200 F. to about 350 (F,although that range is not known to be critical.

In many installations, it may be necessary or desirable for otherreasons to condition the incoming fabric with steam, in which case theapparatus may include suitable steam boxes mounted adjacent one'or bothsides of the fabric. When steam is imparted to the fabric, substantialheat is introduced into the fabric and from the fabric it is transferredinto the feeding roller. Because of this, and perhaps also because ofthe active moisture introduced by steaming, it is usually necessary tocool, rather than heat, the feeding roller in order to maintain it at apredermined temperature within the desired range.

The system of the invention enables a fabric to be fed under conditionsof precisely controlled slippage, permitting sensitive feedingadjustments to be made without resorting to delicate physicaladjustments of the equip ment, which may be very difiicult where widefabric webs must be accommodated, and without making surface speedadjustments, which may be inadequate under certain circumstances.Moreover, the precisely controlled slippage provided for would enable acont-rolled amount of polish to be imparted to the fabric, if desired.

It should be unde stood that the specific form of the invention hereinillustrated is intended to be representative only, as certain changesmay be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of thedisclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the followingappended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A fabric feeding system with controlled slippage comprising (a) adriven feeding roller engaging one side of a fabric;

(b) a stationary fabric confining surface facing said feeding rollerover a substantial portion of its surface area and adapted to engage theother side of the fabric;

(c) fabric travel resisting means positioned on one side of said rollerand engaging fabric being advanced by said roller;

((1) said feeding roller, said confining surface, said fabric, and saidresisting means being so spaced and related as to effect continuouscontrolled slippage of the feeding roller surface with respect to saidfabric;

(6) means for supplying heating and cooling media to said roller,

(f) means for sensing the temperature of the surface of the feedingroller in an operative surface region thereof engaged by the fabricduring rotations of said feeding roller, and

(g) adjustable temperature regulator means associated with saidtemperature sensing means and said media supply means for supplyingheating or cooling means to said feeding roller in accordance withwhether the sensed surface temperature of said feeding roller is belowor above the adjusted setting of said regulator; whereby (h) saidfeeding roller is maintained in controllably slipping relation with saidfabric;

(i) the extent of slippage increasing and decreasing directly as afunction of increases and decreases, respectively, in roller surfacetemperature.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which (a) said feeding roller is ofhollow construction;

(-b) said means to supply heating and cooling media comprises means forintroducing fluid media into the hOHOtW interior of said feeding roller;and

(c) said heating medium and said cooling medium being steam and water,respectively.

3. The method of controllably feeding fabric under resistance withcontrolled slippage, which comprises (a) directing the fabric betweentwo surfaces which engage the opposite sides of the fabric, at least oneof which is moving;

(b) maintaining said moving surface continuously in a controlledslipping relationship with said fabric;

(0) sensing the surface temperature of the moving surface in anoperative region having contact with the fabric during feeding; and

(d) cont-rolling the temperature of said moving surface to maintain thesensed surface temperature at a controllably predetermined level;whereby (e) said moving surface is maintained in controllably slippingrelation wit-h said fabric;

(f) the extent of slippage increasing and decreasing directly as afunction of increases and decreases, respectively, in the temperature ofsaid moving surface.

4. The method of claim 3, in which (a) said fabric is heated in advanceof passage between said surfaces;

(b) a heat exchange medium is controllably supplied to said movingsurface; and

(c) said heat exchange medium alternatively is heating or coolingmedium.

5. The method of claim 3, in which (a) the temperature of said movingsurface is controllably maintained at a predetermined, adjustedtemperature not substantially outside the range of from 200 F. to 350 F.

6. The method of controllably feeding a fabric, which comprises (a)directing the fabric over a driven feeding roller and maintaining thefabric in a predetermined pressure relationship with said roller;

(b) applying to the fabric, on one side of the feeding roller,sufiicient resistance to feeding movement to impart a continuous andcontrolled slippage between said fabric and said feeding roller; and

(c) controllably varying the temperature in the area of contact betweenthe fabric and the feeding roller, whereby to increase and decrease theamount of slippage between said fabric and said feeding roller;

(d) the amount of slippage increasing and decreasing directly as afunction of increases and decreases of said temperature.

7. The method of controllably feeding a moisture-bearing web material,which comprises (a) directing the web material over a driven feedingroller and maintaining the fabric in a predetermined pressurerelationship with said roller;

('b) applying to the web material, on one side of the feeding roller,suflicient resistance to feeding movement to impart a continuous andcontrolled slippage between said Web material and said feeding roller;and

(c) controllably varying the temperature in the area of contact betweenthe web material and the feeding References Cited by the Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,765,165 10/1956 Johnson 24275.3 X 2,977,745 4/1961 Neu2862 X 3,064,563 11/1962 Cook 101-216 M. HENSON WOOD, ]R., PrimaryExaminer.

J. N. ERLICH, Assistant Examiner.

roller, whereby to increase and decrease the amoupt

1. A FABRIC FEEDING SYSTEM WITH CONTROLLED SLIPPAGE COMPRISING (A) ADRIVEN FEEDING ROLLER ENGAGING ONE SIDE OF A FABRIC; (B) A STATIONARYFABRIC CONFINING SURFACE FACING SAID FEEDING ROLLER OVER A SUBSTANTIALPORTION OF ITS SURFACE AREA AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE OTHER SIDE OF THEFABRIC; (C) FABRIC TRAVEL RESISTING MEANS POSITIONED ON ONE SIDE OF SAIDROLLER AND ENGAGING FABRIC BEING ADVANCED BY SAID ROLLER; (D) SAIDFEEDING ROLLER, SAID CONFINING SURFACE, SAID FABRIC, AND SAID RESISTINGMEANS BEING SO SPACED AND RELATED AS TO EFFECT CONTINUOUS CONTROLLEDSLIPPAGE OF THE FEEDING ROLLER SURFACE WITH RESPECT TO SAID FABRIC; (E)MEANS FOR SUPPLYING HEATING AND COOLING MEDIA TO SAID ROLLER, (F) MEANSFOR SENSING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE SURFACE OF THE FEEDING ROLLER IN ANOPERATIVE SURFACE REGION THEREOF ENGAGED BY THE FABRIC DURING ROTATIONSOF SAID FEEDING ROLLER, AND (G) ADJUSTABLE TEMPERATURE REGULATOR MEANSASSOCIATED WITH SAID TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS AND SAID MEDIA SUPPLYMEANS FOR SUPPLYING HEATING OR COOLING MEANS TO SAID FEEDING ROLLER INACCORDANCE WITH WHETHER THE SENSED SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF SAID FEEDINGROLLER IS BELOW OR ABOVE THE ADJUSTED SETTING OF SAID REGULATOR; WHEREBY(H) SAID FEEDING ROLLER IS MAINTAINED IN CONTROLLABLY SLIPPING RELATIONWITH SAID FABRIC; (I) THE EXTENT OF SLIPPAGE INCREASING AND DECREASINGDIRECTLY AS A FUNCTION OF INCREASE AND DECREASES, RESPECTIVELY, INROLLER SURFACE TEMPERATURE.